Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat sugar and butter on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat about 30 seconds, until incorporated. Add ricotta and sour cream and beat on low speed. Beat in ½ flour mixture, then add the rest of flour on medium speed until mixed. Drop one ounce dollops (about two tablespoons) of batter, spaced two inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven 12 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven. Use the back end of a teaspoon to make a deep indentation on the top of each warm cookie. (Rub cooking oil on the spoon if it is sticking to the cookie.) Return to oven for about 2 minutes until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool for about 30 minutes. When ready to serve, spoon lemon curd (or blackberry jam) into indentations. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

In medium bowl, mix together cocoa powder, sugar and oil. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth and shiny. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into the cocoa mixture with a wooden spoon just until smooth. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1 inch or 2 inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners’ sugar and place onto cookie sheets. Leave some space to allow spreading. Bake for 10-12 minutes for smaller cookies and 12-14 minutes for larger cookies. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheets.

Melt 1 c. 60% chips in a microwave in 30 second intervals. Set aside to cool. Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix. In a separate bowl cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one by one. Add melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in peppermint chunks. Scoop cookies into 1½ Tbs. balls, place 2 inches apart. Bake at 350°F. for nine minutes. Don’t over-bake, cookies should be soft and fudgy.

PEANUT COOKIES WITH KISSES

Adele Pogue

1¾ c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ c. butter

½ c. peanut butter

½ c. sugar

½ c. brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Hershey Kisses

Blend together above ingredients, shape and roll into balls; then roll in white sugar before baking. Bake at 375°F. for 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and press 1 Hershey Kiss in center of each cookie. Put back in oven for 2 minutes and remove.

EASY NO-BAKE COOKIES

Sue Jennette

24 oz. almond bark bar (vanilla or chocolate)

12 oz. white or chocolate chip morsels

24 oz. salted peanuts

Melt bark and morsels and mix until smooth. Add peanuts. Drop on wax paper. Set until hard. Makes 6-7 dozen.

SUGARED VANILLA COOKIES

Bette Dillehay

2½ c. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 c. granulated sugar

10 Tbs. butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

Cooking spray

½ c. each red and green sugar sprinkles

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 1 minute). Add vanilla and egg whites, beating until well blended. Beating at low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until a soft dough forms. Divide dough into equal portions. Shape each portion into an 8-inch log. Wrap logs in plastic wrap; chill at least 2 hours or until very firm.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Working with one dough at a time, lightly coat each log with cooking spray. Roll each dough log in sugar sprinkles pressing gently to adhere. Cut each dough log into 32 (½-inch) slices. Place 1-inch apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until set. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Yields 64 cookies.

JEANETTE’S ITALIAN ICED COOKIES

Carol McCormick

4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp. vanilla

6 eggs

½ c. sugar

2 sticks butter (1 c.), softened

Zest of 1 lemon

Zest of 1 orange

Mix above ingredients. Shape dough into ¾-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350°F. for 8-10 minutes or until blonde in color. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Icing

Use ½ box of confectioners’ sugar. Mix with milk at room temperature. Add the milk slowly and don’t make the icing too thin. Add a little orange and lemon juice to the icing for taste. Dip the tops of the cookies into the icing. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles and let cookies dry completely before storing. (A suggestion is to store the un-iced cookies, then ice the cookies before serving. The iced cookies might get soft if stored too long.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla extract; mix until well combined. In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture; mix well. Roll or scoop the dough into teaspoon-sized balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, powdered sugar, and almond extract until smooth. Dip the tops of the cookies into the glaze and set up right back on the wire rack. Immediately top with sprinkles.

Preheat the Pizzelle Press while preparing the batter. Place flour and baking powder in a small bowl and stir to combine; reserve. Place eggs and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium speed for 1 minute, until thickened. On low speed, add the melted butter and vanilla in a steady stream and mix until combined, about 15 seconds. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 10 to 15 seconds; do not over-mix. Spoon 1 Tbs. batter onto one of the patterned cookie grids; repeat to make a second cookie. Close the lid and lock. The red indicator light will come on. When the red indicator light goes out and the green indicator light comes on, the Pizzelles are ready. Just about 1 minute.

For a lighter colored Pizzelle bake for a shorter time; for darker Pizzelles, add a few more seconds of time. Remove from the press using a heatproof plastic spatula and place on a rack to cool completely. Warm Pizzelles may be wrapped around the dowel provided to form cannoli shells. Dust cooled Pizzelles with powdered sugar before serving.

MY MOTHER-IN-LAW’S FAMOUS JUMBLE COOKIES

(Best Cookie Ever)

Mari Gibbs

About this recipe: My wonderful mother-in-law made these amazing Jumble Cookies early on in my marriage to her son, my sweet husband. We bring this recipe to Mathews County for the first time to share with all! These delicious giant cookies are chock full of everything good! Don’t chop pecan halves and leave the almonds in larger pieces as well. You will love these!

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, foil, or silicone. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, beat softened butter with an electric mixer on med to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars until combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can and add any remaining flour by hand, as needed. Stir in nuts, raisins, and chocolate pieces. Using ¼ c. of dough for each cookie, drop dough about 3 inches apart onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden and set. The centers will be lighter in color than the edges.

SPICY MERINGUE KISSES

Joi Ball

2 large egg whites

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Dash of salt

¼ c. packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Dash of ground black pepper

Dash of ground cloves

Preheat oven to 225°F. Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high; gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Add cinnamon and remaining ingredients; beat just until blended.

Spoon batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe 60 mounds onto prepared baking sheets. If you don’t have a piping bag and star tip, snip a corner from a large plastic zipper bag and use it to pipe meringue onto baking sheet. Bake meringues for 1½ hours. Turn oven off, and cool meringues in closed oven for 1½ hours or until dry. Carefully remove meringues from paper. Yields: 5 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)